NYPD: Park Owner Will Lead Protest Cleanup

Police officers stand near the Occupy Wall Street encampment on Oct. 6. The owner of the small park plans to clear and clean the space on Friday morning.

The cleanup of the privately owned park that launched the Occupy Wall Street movement will begin at 7 a.m. Friday, when personnel from landlord Brookfield Properties will clear all people and property before power washing the area.

In remarks Thursday, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly made clear that it’s up to the property owner to enforce the rules governing Zuccotti Park. Brookfield “decided that they want to clean the area, and they’re going to do that,” Kelly said. “And we’ll stand by to make sure the peace is maintained.”

Brookfield owns the property, but under a zoning deal made with city years ago they agreed to keep it open to the public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This arrangement has, in effect, provided the protesters with a safe haven of sorts. At a public park controlled by the city, protesters would have risked enforcement of a nightly curfew.

Under the agreement with the city, however, Brookfield is allowed to establish certain rules — including a prohibition on sleeping or living inside the park.

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.